I did a Top Ten Tuesday post earlier this year titled Ten Authors I Want to Try in 2023. That post inspired me to request a bunch of those authors’ audiobooks from my local library and borrow a couple from KU. Here are reviews for the books I’ve listened to and read so far.
Rock Addiction
Series: Rock Kiss, #1
Author: Nalini Singh
Narrator: Justine O. Keef
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: ★ ★
My thoughts:
I’ve been wanting to read something by Nalini Singh for a while now, so when I saw this book available on audio from my library, I was excited. There was a lot of potential for a great story. So where did things go wrong for me then? Sex scenes in books don’t bother me, but half of this book was sex scenes. Here’s a little story…sex scene, repeat. It got so I didn’t even feel true chemistry between Molly and Fox anymore because I didn’t have enough content to believe they had an emotional connection between them. It also didn’t help that as the book went on Molly became more and more annoying. And this book went on and on. I don’t know if it was just because I was listening to it, but I felt ready to be done with it around 75% in. It was just Molly’s insecurities and sex scenes over and over. I actually started to fast forward through the sex scenes at that point so I could just get the story and to the end. Also, this book was written in third person and that didn’t do it any favors either.
Beautifully Broken Pieces
Series: Sutter Lake, #1
Author: Catherine Cowles
Narrators: Maxine Mitchell, Aaron Shedlock
Publication Date: February 25, 2019
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
My thoughts:
I’ve wanted to read Cowles’ books for a while because her covers always call to me, but I’ve been scared because of how emotional I’ve heard they are. Plus, Tanya is always raving about them and Cowles’ writing. And she’s right. Cowles’ writing is great. There is just the right amount of angst and emotions without going overboard. I enjoyed listening to this book. The romance was sweet. Taylor and Walker were great characters along with all the fun side characters there to support them. I kind of guessed where the romantic suspense plot was going, but I was anticipating one last twist. Overall, this was a strong introduction to Cowles’ writing for me. I can’t wait to continue listening to the series.
Bend Toward the Sun
Author: Jen Devon
Narrators: Erin Mallon, Chris Brinkley
Publication Date: August 2, 2022
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
My thoughts:
All of my reader friends have been singing praises for Bend Toward the Sun since its release, so I decided to listen to it. I can’t decide if that was a good decision or bad one. Reflecting back on the experience, despite the fantastic narrators, I might have had a better experience had I read the book instead. The third person, flowery writing style wasn’t always the easiest to follow when listening. I also got thrown off a bit by all the other characters backstories that made me wonder if I missed previous books. In other words, I got too much information. That being said, I still enjoyed listening to Bend Toward the Sun. I loved the story and romance at the heart of it. Rowan and Harry were broken characters who were rewarding to see heal and learn to love again. They weren’t perfect and neither was their relationship, but there was beauty in that. I especially loved the setting and how it brought the story and romance to life. Jen Devon wrote an impressive debut novel that I’m hoping becomes a series.
Every Summer After
Author: Carley Fortune
Narrator: A.J. Bridel
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½
My thoughts:
This isn’t really a mini review, but I wanted to include it since this book was in my original post to try.
I didn’t have any expectations going into Every Summer After. I had heard some drama surrounding it, but maybe that only made me more curious. In the end, I have some mixed feelings about this book.
The positives: engaging writing from a debut author, intriguing storyline, great characters, fun setting, and great audiobook narration.
The negatives: not enough time in the present to not feel like a YA book, and a plot twist I couldn’t stomach but in a weird way understood.
The in between: It’s been said before, but the structure of the story and plot are similar to a very popular romance novel. While I think this book stands on its own and is unique enough, the comparisons will bother some people. It had been so long since I had read the other book that I honestly didn’t feel the comparison much.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this book until that plot twist. It left a bitter taste in my mouth and almost ruined the book for me. That being said, I was impressed by this debut and I’m excited to read Fortune’s upcoming new release.
How to Fake it in Hollywood
Author: Ava Wilder
Narrators: Andrew Eiden, Thérèse Plummer
Publication Date: June 14, 2022
Publisher: Randon House Audio
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: ★ ★ ★
My thoughts:
This book started out strong for me. I loved the writing and the fake relationship trope seemed like it was going well. Then, I really got to know the characters. Grey was likable, but she had some big personality swings a couple of times that felt like they came out of nowhere. Ethan was an alcoholic and no one close to him seemed to acknowledge it. His abuse of alcohol really brought my enjoyment of this book down. Ethan’s problems were so frustrating with all the support he should have had around him. I also felt like this book dragged on way longer than it should have. That being said, I did feel pulled to the story and enjoyed the narrators.